I needed to read this novel and see what all the fuss is about- after all it is on our Recommendations list. Did it live up to all the hype? Yes and no.

First and foremost, I am not enamored of Batman for he’s grumpy and skulks around in the shadows. I am not typically a DC fan, so I am not aware of some of the background history of Batman lore, although I do know who Barbara was and will become. One of the reasons this novel is considered a stand out is that in 1988 the level of violence was more extreme than other comics in the past. But after reading Locke & Key and The Walking Dead recently, the violence in this novel did not strike me as excessive ( I am desensitized to it, which is actually kinda sad) . All of this already puts me at a disadvantage starting the story.

I was reading the deluxe edition, that is both drawn and re-colored by Brian Bolland. In this edition, his original concept is now done the way he envisioned it. The illustrations are beyond good, with eye popping bold colors added in contrast to the more sepia colored panels. Joker is a vision, and I liked this rendition of him better than others by other artists.

Alan Moore is a legend, so you know the origin story for Joker is golden, although highly suspect. Some of Joker’s dialogue is spot on such as:

“So when you find yourself locked onto an unpleasant thought, heading for the places in your past where the screaming is unbearable, remember there’s always madness…madness is the emergency exit.”

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy” His statements actually make…sense.

In the end, Joker’s manipulations don’t have the desired effect on Commissioner Gordon, but they just might on Batman. The ambiguous ending between Joker and Batman can be interpreted in many different ways. This draw your own conclusion setup is what elevates this story. On my first read through, I thought the story was just meh. On second read through, I understood some of the nuances and got a lot more from it.

This deluxe edition has a lot going for it including a introduction by Tim Sale and an afterword by Brian Bolland. Bolland also adds a bonus story that true aficionados will enjoy, but did nothing for me. While this story did not even come close to making me a Batman fan, I do see why this story was groundbreaking and is loved to this day. As such, it was tuned into an animated movie recently, with mixed reviews.

-Nancy

Kathleen- I am calling you out, for I now have read several DC novels, and you have yet to review a Marvel one. I have been pleasantly surprised at some of the DC storylines, so now I want you to find a Marvel book and enjoy it!

21 thoughts on “Batman: The Killing Joke”

I have always read way more Marvel, being a fan of the X-Men in particular. Superman, Wonder Woman & Batman seemed old school to me, and I basically ignored them. I read a lot of Image comics now, and occasionally dip into the well regarded DC stories.

Way to have the courage to say Batman doesn’t really do it for you. I’ve read him because I feel I *have* to as a “comic collector” but I’ve never been an avid fan of the Bat. I do love that you raised the point about being desensitized to violence like this. It’s so sad but it’s also something that I think people need to be aware of and it’s something we, as a culture, should be discussing…but to what end I’m not sure.

I don’t know…I’ve read Batman off and on (admittedly more off than on) since I was a kid and I still think he’s a morose, developmentally-stalled downer. What can I say? When I want a billionaire crime fighter I’m calling Tony Stark first :).

I was never much of a fan of superhero fiction, including Batman, but I purchased this one when it was first released (still have the same copy too) and it blew me away. I decided to buy it on the strength of the slightly earlier Watchmen, I loved how Alan went to work on the psychology of his characters in Watchmen and I was hoping he’d do the same in Killing Joke. He certainly didn’t disappoint.
Also, (horrible name-drop alert) being from Northampton I knew Alan a bit at the time, so it would have been rude not to buy it!

You knew Alan?!?! I am sure your original copy is worth some $$$ now. I now have to admit my secret- I have not read Watchmen completely. I have skimmed it, but Alan’s stories need more than that. I will remedy that soon.

I only knew him a little, we moved in the same circles at the time.Thinking back, I really should have got him to sign his work!
For me, Watchmen is amazing, I love the way it subverts the genre. But then, if you think Batman is a grumpy shadow-skulker, you’re going to hate Rorshach!
Terrific blog, by the way. All the best to you.

Dang it! I accept your challenge, Nancy, I wish I saw this earlier! My boyfriend actually bought one of the new Ghost Riders when we went to the comic book store yesterday and it looked interesting DX XD I could just get it from work tho as per usual =P
I am glad you reviewed this tho, you gave it a lot more neutral review than I would have. Good job!

Glad you liked it even more happy to see you raised the ambiguous ending point as well , many people miss it on reading , and I do agree nowadays the violence doesn’t seem too much but when I started reading comics Dark Knight Rises and This really scared me with their respective violence

I completely agree about the violence aspect, after watching some of the television nowadays, it’s just not as shocking now – as it would have been back then. That said, I do still want to say to parents when I see 7-8 year olds pick up this comic, “Don’t do it, it’s not right for them just yet!”But I don’t want to be *that* gal.

This was one of the very first comics I reviewed on my own blog and I am still impressed by how much I hated The Joker. Haha.